Trastevere is generous in options for everything. You want a bar? Pick one; there are several of them in any street. Feel like a good Roman pizza? In no time you will see before you plenty of pizzerias. Most of them follow European schedules for lunch and dinner, which means that if you’re hungry, say at 16:00, no restaurant or pizzeria will be open.

In the San Cosimato square, a few steps from Santa Maria in Trastevere square there is a restaurant that does not have this hourly restriction, and it’s open from noon until late at night. It’s Ai Spaghettari, roughly translated as “place where the spaghettis are made”, and they offer a varied menu specialized in roman cuisine. Pasta sauces like carbonara (parmigiana, egg and a type of bacon), ammatriciana (tomato and bacon and a touch of wine) have a very special taste in this very traditional restaurant. Pizzas and bruschetta are only served in the evening.

Make sure to not leave the table without having ordered a grappa barricata, it’s the perfect digestif after a good dinner like this.

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Ai Spaghettari | Restaurants (Roman – Italian) | Entree, pasta & drink € 15
P.za di San Cosimato, 57 | Trastevere
12:00 – 00:00 daily

In one of the city center’s street there is a little restaurant called Porto di Ripetta. It is located in Via Ripetta which is a parallel street of Via del Corso. This street is not as busy as the more famous Via del Corso or even via del Babuino, and in fact it has fewer shops.

The restaurant has a real nice ambience to it and is particularly great for a dating evening, be it the first or fiftieth.

The restaurant is a little pricey but the food is delicious. One of my favorite dishes is an entrée: spaghetti with mussels and vegetables, definitely a must try. Or they have another great dish that is risotto with shrimp and apples (the apple gives it a a very interesting taste, perfect with the rice!) This plate is a little more expensive, about € 15.00, and since the portion is not too small I usually share the plate with someone.

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Porto di Ripetta | Restaurants (Italian) | Plate of spaghetti € 13.00
Via di Ripetta 250 | City center | +39063612376
Mon 20:00 – 23:00, Tue – Sat 12:00 – 23:00

This is also a popular venue in the North Rome area. It’s illuminated by candlelight, and has ethnic furniture, sofas and puffs. The atmosphere is warm and laid-back, where you can meet old friends and create new ones, where you can chat away in the corner seated on a puff or sofa.

It is more of a cocktail bar but they do have a Mediterranean kitchen too. They have a good wine list but the preferred drinks are martinis or even champagne.

But what makes this wine bar interesting is that a lot of the items that you see are actually for sale! If you like their leopard print dishes, you can take them home!

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Rere | Bars, Restaurants (Regional) | Glass of wine € 7.00
Via Flaminia Vecchia 475 | Parioli & Flaminio | +39063340483
18:00 – 02:00 daily

Il Peperone is a nice little restaurant in Via Veneto, which is one of the most famous streets in Rome, but usually untouchable for the prices. When I first went to Il Peperone with a friend of mine who had come to visit me from the States, I was impressed with the prices because they were affordable compared to their competitors.

My friend wanted to have coffee in Via Veneto but I said “I have a better idea: let’s have pizza!” and the food turned out to be great. The restaurant offers a variety of different dishes – mainly Roman typical foods but also a variety of general Italian ones. I like sitting outside as you can sit and relax and people watch in the heart of Rome.

My friend and I had a great time and the service was great, we ordered some delicious Roman appetizers and a pizza each. The owner Antonietta is very friendly and laid-back, she even said OK to taking a picture with me!

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Il Peperone restaurant | Snacks, Restaurants (Pizza) | Pizza Margheritia € 10.00
Via Veneto 97 | City center | +39064884593
Oct – Apr 12:00 – 16:00 & 18:00 – 00:00 daily | May – Sept 18:00 – 00:00 daily

La Sorgente is a nice Chinese restaurant in a side street of the city center, right where Piazza di Spagna is (Spanish Steps). My friend who works downtown and knows pretty much every nook and canny of the city center brought me to this restaurant which has great Chinese food and a happy wait staff, plus there is rarely a line to be seated.

I have been going there a few times when I am craving Chinese food and have sort of the usual every time: I start out with the steamed dumpling, the spring rolls and then get the duck entrée… I am craving right now, I am probably going to call some friends for dinner tomorrow!

I love the simple and elegant décor of the restaurant and how they made space in it like having tables on the hallway, or you can dine near the aquarium, and it is right around the corner from Piazza di Spagna where is perfect to take a walk after dinner.

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La Sorgente | Restaurants (Chinese) | Steamed Dumplings € 5.00
Via Dei Greci 5 | City center | +390645455011
11:00 – 23:30 daily

This is a pizzeria/restaurant located in North Rome, and it is a popular place for the younger crowd but you will also see families. I like to come here because it is close to my house and because the environment is really laid-back and fun, and if I decide to have dinner their Roman style pizzas are pretty good.

This is a modernly big restaurant an in fact it was established in only 2004, where you can either eat inside or outside in their enormous patio. You can start out with some appetizers such as “bruschette” or “crostini”, and then go with a pizza and beer.

On Sundays they have a special event (“Sunset time”) at 18;00 where you pay € 5.00 for the buffet and a drink.

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Sport Café | Restaurants (Pizza) | Spritz Drink € 7.00
Via Cassia 999 | Cassia & Montemario | +390630315041
Mon – Sat 20:00 – 01:00, Sun 18:00 – 00:00

As a fan of Asian food and in particular Japanese food I picked this restaurant to enjoy a nice dinner with a few friends and I was pleasantly surprised.

The place has normal tables as well as tatami tables but it only gives you an illusion of sitting on the floor because you will sit down and there is a “hole” or space to place your legs. I prefer the tatami tables because it makes me feel that I take in all the culture that comes with the cuisine.

We enjoyed some Asian beers and some Ume sushi which is a plate with different sushi’s and for my friends that were not sushi lovers they also had a Malayan side of the menu and so we ordered some Malayan beef.

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Enso Sushi Restaurant | Restaurants (Asian ) | Main meal € 10.00
Piazzale Ponte Milvio 33 | Parioli & Flaminio | +390633221175
11:00 – 15:00 & 18:00 – 00:00 daily

Zen is a Japanese restaurant in the city center and if you are a sushi lover this is a great place to go and hang out.

I love this place; I come here about once a month, as I am a sushi fanatic and I love the fact that this restaurant has a revolving bar, the plates rotate in front of you at the bar and you choose the ones that you like. The prices are by plate color (white, red, blue etc) which you have in front of you so you know how much you spend.

The only downside of this place has is the wait, however there is a nice waiting area in front with couches and you can order a glass of wine (or sake) and chat with your friends that you do not even realize that half an hour has passed before you get seated.

Even though you can request a table, the fun is to seat at the bar and choose your little sushi as they pass by on the table…my favorites are the tuna and salmon!

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ZEN | Restaurants (Japanese) | Red plate € 5.50
Via degli Scipioni 243-243A | City center | +39063213420
Sun – Mon 13:00 – 15:00, Tue – Sat 13:00 – 15:00 & 20:00 – 23:45

Cesaretto wine bar is one of my favorite places in Rome and I am there so much that they know my name, and in fact a lot of the people that frequent the wine bar are regulars and it is in a side street off Via Del Corso. The environment is friendly and laid back but the food is upscale deliciousness.

I like going there year round, it is small but during the warmer months you can sit outside and watch people. Sometimes celebrities (national or international) pass by, and during the cooler months they have an area inside that is very cozy and warm.

My favorites to get there are the Carbonara pasta or the ravioli with a Fragolino wine to go with it, but most days they have a special that is not on the menu and go ahead and ask for it and most likely you will eat something delicious.

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Il Cesaretto | Bars, Restaurants (Carbonara) | Main meal € 12.00
Via Bocca di Leone 44a | City center | +390669380557
12:00 – 23:00 daily

The Cicalino, meaning “little grasshopper” is a well- known in North Rome, during the afternoons in fact it is often a place for high-school students to meet and chat while eating a pizza al taglio before deciding where to go.

In the evenings it can be a quiet place to sit out on their red tables and enjoy the pizza or arancini. If you are a sports fan, usually you can watch the games inside on their TV, with a beer to accompany your pizza.

These kind of pizza’s are not as thin as the ones that you will find in the restaurants. They serve square pizzas, with a variety of different toppings. One of my personal favorites is their potato topping pizza that I learned to love when I was one of those high-schoolers chatting away with friends.

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Il Cicalino | Bars, Restaurants (Pizza al taglio) | Piece of pizza € 3.50
Via Cassia 917/A | Cassia & Montemario | +390630362549
Tue – Sat 11:00 – 21:00